NBA.com: Sekou Smith's Hangtime Blog talks Coaching Hires

He has Ranked them in order of 'Coach most likely to lead his team to a Playoff Berth in his first Season'.

So, naturally Dwane is low in the list, but Sekou's got some nice things to say about the hire.

1. Mike Brown, Los Angeles Lakers – Surprised to see Brown here, at the top of the list? You shouldn’t be. No coach on the list walks into a better situation, from a wins and losses perspective. The rest of the coaches on the list combined won’t work with as much top shelf talent as Brown will in his first season guiding the Lakers. Sure, he has that whole “following in the footsteps of a legend (Phil Jackson)” thing to deal with. Folks that love to point to the failures of Brown’s Cleveland teams in the playoffs are conveniently overlooking the fact that he coached back-to-back 60-win teams in this league and also coached in the NBA Finals during his tenure with the Cavaliers. The man knows how to run a team and he’ll have plenty of success with the Lakers. Whether or not it’s championship-level success depends on much more than just Brown’s performance.

2. Frank Vogel, Indiana Pacers – Vogel waited nearly as long for official confirmation that he would have his interim tag removed in Indiana as Rambis did for his official walking papers in Minnesota. We’re still trying to figure out why it took so long in both instances. Vogel showed with his performance that he was more than ready for his shot to run a team. He guided a disheveled Pacers team into the postseason after replacing Jim O’Brien and then made Bulls fans sweat, just a little bit, in the first round of the playoffs. If the Pacers had better options, said options never presented themselves throughout the process. In fact, some could argue that Vogel’s top assistant, on-time Lakers heir apparent Brian Shaw, is as solid a hire as any of the head coaches chosen this summer.

3. Kevin McHale, Houston Rockets – The day his name surfaced in the Rockets’ coaching search I spotted McHale, a former colleague and one of my favorite people of all time, walking down a hallway during the first round of the playoffs in Portland. I asked him point-blank, “back to coaching … what are you thinking?” He just smiled then and said “we’ll see.” And we shall. I have no doubts McHale is a good fit for the Rockets. But the Rockets are fighting the toughest battle of any team on this list trying to break out from the pack at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff standings and into the top eight every year. Without a superstar to anchor this crew, McHale will have to push all the right buttons if the Rockets want to see their playoff dreams realized.

4. Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors – Kudos to the Raptors for doing what so many other teams the past few years failed to do and recognize that Casey earned a second shot as a head coach in this league. It certainly helps to walk through the door with a ring on your finger and that Larry O’Brien trophy on your resume, courtesy of a virtuoso performance during the Mavericks’ playoff run. After watching Casey’s defensive schemes chew up the opposition throughout the playoffs, you wonder how well it might work with a Raptors team that cannot compare to the Mavericks. Casey’s tasked with rebuilding the Raptors psyche and defensive constitution. If he accomplishes either one he’s a genius. If can manage both, they’ll be in the playoffs before long.

5. Mark Jackson, Golden State Warriors – Jackson’s placement at the bottom of our list has much more to do with his predicament than it does with our belief that he’s ready to tackle the job of head coaching in the league. (Jerry West felt the same way, and that’s always good company to keep when decisions are being made.) Like all first-timers, Jackson’s belief in himself and his abilities far outweigh the reality of his situation. To put it plainly, Jackson inherited a roster that’s need some serious tweaking. And since that cannot happen anytime soon, a little thing called the lockout, Jackson can only fantasize about what it is he could do if the circumstances were different.

"That was Nasty right? Cocked that Joint back and banged on 'em." -James Johnson

Pleased

Sekou Smith did a good job on this list. DC should help revamp the Defensive philosophy in TO if we had one to begin with. O_o

The one pick that did jump out at me was Frank Vogel in Indy. IMO Indiana is a mess and Larry Bird should just give up. On the other hand, i do have to give credit where due. He did a alright job in the playoffs against a STACKED Chicago team.

Being a bottom of the mill playoff team should be the furthest thing away from our goals. Teams like these tend to have a extremely difficult time making the transition to an elite club. Since they miss out on a lottery pick. It becomes a short time gain and hardly ever pays off.

If you are coming to the playoffs you better be ready for the beast that is.

Sekou Smith did a good job on this list. DC should help revamp the Defensive philosophy in TO if we had one to begin with. O_o

The one pick that did jump out at me was Frank Vogel in Indy. IMO Indiana is a mess and Larry Bird should just give up. On the other hand, i do have to give credit where due. He did a alright job in the playoffs against a STACKED Chicago team.

Being a bottom of the mill playoff team should be the furthest thing away from our goals. Teams like these tend to have a extremely difficult time making the transition to an elite club. Since they miss out on a lottery pick. It becomes a short time gain and hardly ever pays off.

If you are coming to the playoffs you better be ready for the beast that is.

I'm not too sure I agree on that.

The Pacers managed to remain competitive despite a fan base that has failed to support the team in recent years (rightly or wrongly is debatable), ownership losing money year after year, Miller retiring, O'Neal becoming a cripple, and the brawl at the Palace. They got stuck in purgatory for a few years, no doubt, but he has been acquiring nice pieces along the way (George, HIbbert, Collison).

However with all that negativity the last 5 years they did remain competitive and they make the playoffs this year. Bird has managed to have $37M on the books as well for next season with 11 players under contract. They are well positioned for whatever the new CBA brings and they have desirable trade chips in addition to their cap space.

I see a similarity between Bird and Colangelo. Neither is flawless (although show me a GM who is with more than a few years experience) but both are above average executives in my opinion and they seem to have their teams on a brighter path after a few seasons of misery. It would be a shame not to see either carry their plan to completion - hopefully both will be successful and, if not, it will be time for someone else to take over with no doubts.

I really hope we don't lose a year because of this lockout. I like where the team is headed and with a defensive-minded coach it will only be a matter of time before they get better.

This is the part the I did fully agree with about his assessment. I think the simple fact that Casey KNOWS how to teach defense, and has proven his teachings to be effective, will automatically make these guys better than they were.

But as someone has pointed out, the same could be said about Kevin O'Neill coming in.
They must play effective defense, but still be granted the freedom to run an up-tempo style of play.
KO would force them to stop at half-court, no matter what, so he could call a play every time.
Clearly not effective. I think Casey will have a better grasp of their talents and trust them on the offensive side.
So long as they carry out their duties on defense. I imagine he'll have a short leash with players who don't play on both sides of the court.

As for Larry Bird, he made the right move in keeping Vogel as Head Coach. He had the players full support, and Bird knew that. He did his job in getting them into the playoffs, and if Hibbert plays well under him, then you have to keep him on. Hibbert can take that team places if he adds some muscle and consistency.

Last edited by Joey; Sun Jul 24th, 2011 at 08:05 PM.

"That was Nasty right? Cocked that Joint back and banged on 'em." -James Johnson

The Pacers managed to remain competitive despite a fan base that has failed to support the team in recent years (rightly or wrongly is debatable), ownership losing money year after year, Miller retiring, O'Neal becoming a cripple, and the brawl at the Palace. They got stuck in purgatory for a few years, no doubt, but he has been acquiring nice pieces along the way (George, HIbbert, Collison).

However with all that negativity the last 5 years they did remain competitive and they make the playoffs this year. Bird has managed to have $37M on the books as well for next season with 11 players under contract. They are well positioned for whatever the new CBA brings and they have desirable trade chips in addition to their cap space.

I see a similarity between Bird and Colangelo. Neither is flawless (although show me a GM who is with more than a few years experience) but both are above average executives in my opinion and they seem to have their teams on a brighter path after a few seasons of misery. It would be a shame not to see either carry their plan to completion - hopefully both will be successful and, if not, it will be time for someone else to take over with no doubts.

You make a solid argument. The last 5 years or so have been relatively tough for Indy, but they did manage to play fairly decent ball. They are not on the same level as a Clippers or Timberwolves, I just do not see them making any significant strides in the near future. Although they do have some decent players.

The Pacers franchise got set back 5 years after the Artest brawl. Not only did they have to break up a championship contender in the wake of the incident, but they had to accept 60 cents on the dollar for guys like Jackson and Artest which only set them back further. Jermaine O'Neal falling apart didn't help matters either.

Larry Bird's done a decent job of getting them back on the right track, although they currently reside in that dreaded "zone of mediocrity" we keep hearing so much about. They're still one elite level talent away from breaking into the top 4 of the Eastern Conference, but with lots of cap room and some good assets, getting that type of player may not be the pipe dream that it was 2 seasons ago.

The Pacers franchise got set back 5 years after the Artest brawl. Not only did they have to break up a championship contender in the wake of the incident, but they had to accept 60 cents on the dollar for guys like Jackson and Artest which only set them back further. Jermaine O'Neal falling apart didn't help matters either.

Larry Bird's done a decent job of getting them back on the right track, although they currently reside in that dreaded "zone of mediocrity" we keep hearing so much about. They're still one elite level talent away from breaking into the top 4 of the Eastern Conference, but with lots of cap room and some good assets, getting that type of player may not be the pipe dream that it was 2 seasons ago.

Even though I like seeing U.S. sources show some positivity towards our boys, I still can't see us making the playoffs next season. There are some major holes in our roster, and won't hold my breath for a playoff berth until I see what BC (or the new G.M.) comes up with to fix those.

The challenge for Casey is magnified with the lockout. He intends to make a lot of culture changing plays and that stuff takes lots of time. If the lockout is not resolved at the August meetings then chances are Casey isn't going to get much time to work with the team before the opening tip off... If there is an opening tip off.